Dinesh Karthik apologizes for omitting Dhoni from all-time India XI
What's the story
Dinesh Karthik, the former Indian wicket-keeper, has publicly apologized for his oversight of excluding MS Dhoni from his all-time India playing XI.
This omission sparked a wave of surprise among cricket enthusiasts.
In a recent episode of his show, Karthik clarified that it was an unintentional error on his part as he had overlooked the inclusion of a wicketkeeper in the team.
Team composition
Karthik's clarification on Dravid's role in his team
Karthik explained that many fans had assumed he had selected Rahul Dravid as the wicketkeeper for his team. However, he clarified this was not the case.
"Bhai log. Bada galti hogaya (Guys I made a big mistake.) Genuinely it was a mistake," Karthik said.
He further stated, "I realized only when the episode came out... Can you believe being a wicket-keeper, I forgot to have a wicket-keeper? It is a blunder."
Praise
Karthik hails Dhoni as one of the greatest cricketers
Karthik went on to express his admiration for Dhoni, describing him as a certainty in any format and one of the greatest cricketers of all time.
"And for me, let's be clear. Thala Dhoni is a lock in any format, not only in India," he said.
He further added that if given another opportunity to form the team, he would place Dhoni at No.7 and appoint him as the captain.
Team details
A look at Karthik's all-time India XI
In his all-time India XI, Karthik had chosen a blend of India's top talents from various formats.
The opening pair was Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma, followed by Rahul Dravid at No.3 and Sachin Tendulkar at No.4.
Virat Kohli was positioned at No.5 in the batting order, while Yuvraj Singh and Ravindra Jadeja were selected as all-rounders due to their match-winning capabilities with both bat and ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, Jasprit Bumrah, and Zaheer Khan were the bowlers.